North Dakota Fire Zone

Historical Fire Regimes

Note

Prior to European colonization the Great Plains fire zone had 39,811 acres of fire annually.

Historical Fire Annual Amounts and Their Associated Biophysical Settings

In the interactive chart below, hover over the various elements to learn how much of each BpS was on the landscape historically, and how much fire across the 3 main fire types happened annually prior to European Settlement.

Biophysical Settings descriptions

Below you will find a list of Biophysical Settings (BpS) that is linked to their descriptions. Note:

• There may be multiple BpS names listed. If so, this is because your landscape spans multiple LANDFIRE Map Zones and has multiple ‘variants’ for those BPSs.
  
• The names below are followed by a number in parentheses. The first 5-digit number is the BPS Code. The following numbers reprent the Map Zones. For example, “13020_65_66” is ‘Laurentian-Acadian Northern Hardwoods forest’ BpS (13020) in Map Zones 65 and 66.
• The map below will help orient you to the Map Zones for your landscape.

Clicking link will initiate a download of a Microsoft Word file. If you have any issues with this please contact LANDFIRE.

Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie (11410_40) - 38%
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems (14950_31_39_40) - 8%
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems (14950_31_39_40) - 1%
Northern Tallgrass Prairie (14200_39_40_42) - 4%
Northern Tallgrass Prairie (14200_39_40_42) - 2%
Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie (11410_39) - 4%
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems (11620_31_39_40) - 2%
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems (11620_31_39_40) - 0%
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine (13850_31_39_40_42) - 2%
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine (13850_31_39_40_42) - 0%
Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie (11410_29_30) - 2%
Western Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie (11500_31_39_40) - 2%
Western Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie (11500_31_39_40) - 0%
Great Plains Prairie Pothole (14820_30) - 1%
Great Plains Prairie Pothole (14820_39_40) - 1%
Great Plains Prairie Pothole (14820_39_40) - 0%
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems (11620_29_30) - 1%
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems (14690_31_39_40_43) - 1%

Most Prevalent Existing Vegetation Types

Existing Vegetation Cover

The Existing Vegetation Cover (EVC) map is a visual representation of EVC classifications across the subregion. The chart below the map provides a breakdown of each vegetation cover classification and their relative distribution across the forest.

Existing Vegetation Height

The Existing Vegetation Height (EVH) map showcases EVH across the forest. The chart below the map provides the percentage of the landscape represented by each EVH height.